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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Vampires, angels, demons, werewolves and fae. If you can’t pick a favourite, then that’s okay! At UTC, we love them all! So let’s celebrate our love for all things immortal with 2014’s Immortal Reading Challenge.

I have participated in this challenge for the past two years and had a blast with it. Can't wait to do it again this year!

How It Works:
1. The Immortals Reading Challenge runs from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. You can join at anytime from now and throughout the year. This is a 2014 challenge, so books read before January 1 will not count to your progress.
2. You pick your goal! Read as many books as you’d like for each species. This means that you can do just one category or all five or a combination of. The choice depends on you and your reading pace.
*We have chosen to have a three book per species standard. However, if this is a breeze for you, then feel free to tackle on the additional bonus entries of two more books of the same level.
3. Re-reads are acceptable.
4. Books chosen can be of any genre.
5. To participate, all you have to do is join the Goodreads book club, The League of Lusty Ladies and check in with updates on your progress regularly on the 2014 Immortals Reading Challenge thread. That’s it!

Every month during 2014 we will make an effort to update on how you’re doing with your challenge. We hope you’ll join us!

Personal Goals (and book listing):

Like last year, I am going to try to read five adult books for each category. Here are the books that I am hoping to read for this particular challenge.

I've already done my favorite books with Fiktshun's Top 10 of 2013 event so I decided to focus on historical romance since that is the genre I read the most in this year. As always, there is no order to the following list.

Books 2 and 3 in the Brothers Sinister series which continues to be so refreshing in this genre especially when it comes to female characters. The Heiress Effect deals with a heroine willing to do anything to remain unmarried while The Countess Conspiracy focuses on a lady scientist and her efforts to keep her identity a secret.

A debut that completely blew me away at the beginning of this year. This series takes place in a steampunk version of Victorian London with vampires, shifters, and plenty of cyber technology. The hero of this book, Blade, is one of my new fictional boyfriends and his heroine is almost as intriguing.

Another case of an author that had two amazing books I couldn't choose from. These are the latest in the fabulous Maiden Lane series. These two specifically deal with the mysterious Ghost of St. Giles whose identity has gotten more complex.

The conclusion of the Spindle Cove series which gives Dare a perfect 4/4 on five star ratings for me when it comes to these books. This one specifically deals with an across-the-tracks romance between a barmaid and a wealthy duke. It is just as charming and satisfying as Dare's other books.

Second in the Rules of Scoundrels series which deals with the owners of a popular gaming club, The Fallen Angel. This specific book focuses on the bookkeeper of the club (Cross) and the science-minded Lady Philippa who is trying to research the more scandalous side of London.

The conclusion to the popular McCabe trilogy that I won't go into too much detail about since the identity of the heroine is supposed to be a surprise. This entire series was amazing, but this one was easily the best. Highly recommended for fans of Highland romance.

An amazing mix of historical and paranormal romance that focuses on couple that has been married for years, but have some major secrets. Poppy Lane is one of my favorite heroines of 2013 and her attempts to discover the truth about her mother's past is worth the time.

8. Lord of Wicked Intentions by Lorraine Heath
Easily my favorite of this trilogy about three aristocratic brothers who were cruelly separated as children and spent their years apart very differently. This is the conclusion and focuses on the most intriguing brother, Rafe, who runs a gaming hell despite his noble background.

9. Sweet Revenge by Zoe Archer
My first Archer book that showed me what I have been missing for all this years. This the beginning of a new series about a group trying to gain justice for the unfortunate in London society. The hero is a convicted felon who is broken out of prison by the heroine in one of the best beginnings I've read in awhile.

10. When She Said I Do by Celeste Bradley
I love a good fairy tale retelling and Bradley does an admirable job with this Beauty and the Beast-inspired romance. The hero is appropriately tortured, the heroine is spunky though never annoying, and there is also a complicated family just to spice things up even more.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t? Midnight Frost by Jennifer Estep -- It was good, but not what I was expecting based on the earlier books in the series.

3. Most Surprising (in a good way!) Book of 2013? The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani -- Fantastic fairy tale world with a dark twist.Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion -- I'm not a zombie fan at all, but I loved this one.

4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013? Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell -- I think almost anyone could find someone to relate to in this book.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you? Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion -- Again I'm not a zombie/horror fan, but this was fabulous.The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth -- I rarely read nonfiction, but I loved the TV series based on this book and it was an interesting read.

I know how mirrors work. They're all in league with the cosmetics trade. They tell a woman lies. Drawing her gaze from one imagined flaw to another, until all she sees is a constellation of imperfections. If you could get outside yourself, borrow my eyes for just an instant... There is only beauty. (Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare)